The Bachelor, The Beauty And The Blizzard

1

"She’s gone."

Gina Leigh looked up from her driver’s-side door. She’d known that Randall Watson was at his grandmother’s from the white Lexus parked in the driveway. What she hadn’t expected was for him to run out the front door and yell across the lawn at her.

Concerned that something might have happened to Ella, Gina quickly finished locking her car, dropped her keys in her purse, then started up the concrete walk. What do you mean she’s gone?

Gone off with a man. Randall waved a sheet of white paper, the kind Ella Flemming used to write grocery lists and notes to the gardener. "She says they’re eloping. Eloping," he repeated, as though the idea were totally incredible.

Gina paused at the base of the porch, and for a moment couldn’t stop herself from grinning. Eloping. How like Ella. How romantic.

It’s not funny, Randall snapped, his eyes narrowing. She’s run off with some gigolo.

Gina stopped smiling. "Jack Longman is not a gigolo, and I can understand why Ella’s eloping. She probably figured if she didn’t, you’d try to stop her."

Darn right I would. This is ridiculous. He stepped closer, raw determination in his eyes.

The six-inch rise of the porch added to the nine-inch difference in their heights and gave him too much advantage in Gina’s opinion. She moved back a pace, allowing herself more space. Still, she had to look up. No, it isn’t ridiculous. This isn’t something that just happened. Your grandmother’s been in love with Jack since she was in high school.

Don’t even suggest that! Randall snapped. She loved my grandfather.

Yes, she did. And she loved Jack before she met your grandfather. And now that she’s found Jack again, their love’s been rekindled. She’s been trying to tell you that for the past two months but you won’t listen.

So now you’re going to tell me what I should listen to? he grumbled.

Again he stepped toward her, closing the distance between them. But this time, Gina stood her ground. Someone needs to tell you.

Like you told me you’d had experience working with older people? He shook his head. I never should have hired you. Here I expected you to look after my grandmother, and what do you do? You get her involved in a romance.

"I did not get her involved in a romance. She got herself involved. And I have had experience with older people…with my grandmother. Gina looked him directly in the eyes. Into gorgeous brown eyes that were now sparking with anger. Well, let him be angry. None of this was her fault. I will not take responsibility for a mature woman’s actions. If I’ve learned anything in the past six months, it is that your grandmother does not need a keeper. A friend and companion, yes. A keeper, no."

She couldn’t see, not until two weeks ago, he said gruffly. You were supposed to watch over her.

His implication that she hadn’t done her job irked Gina. I was hired as a companion. Monday through Friday, eight-thirty till six, I was here. I never missed a day. Never was late. Up until she had that second operation, I drove your grandmother wherever she wanted to go. Fixed her meals. Helped her with her correspondence. Listened to—

Randall interrupted. Goaded her into writing to a man she hadn’t seen for fifty years or more.

"I did not goad her into anything. And Gina wasn’t going to let Ella’s grandson—good-looking or not—goad her into a corner. Your grandmother may be seventy-two years old, but she’s not ready to be put on a shelf to shrivel up and die. She’s had trouble with her eyes, not her mind. She knows what she wants."

Does she? Randall didn’t believe that for a second. His grandmother had been devastated by the death of his grandfather. Totally distraught. Or is she just a lonely old woman who’s easy prey for a sweet-talking swindler?

Oh, come on. Your grandmother is no dummy. Gina lifted her chin defiantly, her blue-gray eyes set with determination. And Jack is no swindler. She knows this man. They went to high school together.

That was a long time ago. People change.

Well, from what he wrote in his letters and said during their conversations, your grandmother didn’t think Jack had changed all that much. She said he sounded like the same Jack she knew in high school.

You read his letters to her?

Up until she had that second operation, yes. That was what you hired me to do.

Again, Randall reminded himself that he never should have hired her. Gina might be twenty-five, but she obviously lacked the maturity his grandmother had needed. He’d thought hiring a companion who had a college degree in communications would be good for his grandmother; that someone who liked to talk would help brighten her days while she was waiting for her surgery. He’d figured being with Gina would give her something else to think about. He hadn’t planned on his grandmother thinking of marriage.

Has this guy ever asked her for money?

Jack? No. Why would he? He has his own money. He doesn’t need any of hers.

Just because the guy says he has money doesn’t mean he does. A swindler would tell a lonely old woman anything, he thought bitterly. Next thing you know, the guy’s got a problem. He’s a little short of cash, and could Grandma possibly loan him a little? Randall knew exactly how it would go. He’d seen it happen with his mother before her so-called boyfriends milked her of all her savings. Heck, his father had tried it with him.

One thing I learned a long time ago, he began, is that my grandmother may be intelligent about some things, but she’s a sucker when it comes to a hard-luck story. Look at the huge donation she gave to the Children’s Hospital last month. And that’s not the only charity that has her on its sucker list.

Your grandmother said the donation to the Children’s Hospital was her usual Christmas gift, one she’s given for the past twenty pears. And being generous does not make you a sucker.

Randall could tell that Gina didn’t get his point. You may not know this, but my grandmother nearly got taken by one of those so-called charities two years ago.

She told me. And she appreciates that you figured out the organization was a hoax. But we’re not talking about the same thing here.

No, we’re not, are we? Bilking an old woman out of some money was one thing. Marrying her was another. We shouldn’t even be talking. We should be doing something. He lifted the note he’d found in the house. She left this for you. It says you know what’s going on, and that you’ll understand what she’s doing. So explain to me what she’s doing, and where she is.

That was for me? Gina snatched the paper from his hand, turned away from him and began to read what it said.

Randall stood where he was, not sure what else to do but stare at her profile. As much as she irritated him, she also fascinated him. Her shoulder-length taffy-colored hair was being blown by the breeze, exposing just a bit of her neck, and he remembered the one time he’d accidentally touched her face. He’d turned around to say something to her, and she’d been closer than he’d expected. His hand had brushed right over her cheek.

They’d both been surprised by the contact, and he’d jerked his hand back, but not before feeling the velvety soft texture of her skin. Her neck looked as soft.

Soft skin, hard head, he thought. Stubborn was the word his grandfather would have used to describe Gina. Carl Flemming had often called his own wife stubborn. Randall remembered how his grandfather would grumble and complain and make his usual threats about leaving that stubborn woman. But Carl Flemming usually gave in to Ella. The man had adored his wife and she had adored him.

The idea that she was now running off to marry someone else was ridiculous. Randall had seen his grandmother collapse at his grandfather’s funeral, had spent long nights with the sobbing woman in the months that followed. She was vulnerable, and the woman he’d hired to watch over her had failed him.

Not that Gina hadn’t performed other parts of her job well. He was aware of all she’d done. Gina Leigh was a five-foot-three dynamo. In the past six months, he’d noticed a big change in his grandmother’s attitude toward life. Within a month after he’d hired Gina, his grandmother began relating tidbits of information Gina had told her. Soon she was conveying everything from jokes to new scientific discoveries. Gina had reawakened his grandmother’s interest in the world around her.

And Gina wasn’t content to merely sit around and talk to his grandmother. She’d taken on everything from cleaning cupboards to rearranging furniture. She’d even polished his grandmother’s silverware, a task he’d been assigned as a boy and had always hated.

Yes, Gina Leigh was a hard worker, a talker—and a real cutie. But that still didn’t excuse her role in his grandmother’s disappearance.

Studying Gina’s features, he decided that she wasn’t conventionally beautiful. Her mouth was a bit too large, her eyes too wide set and her nose too narrow to fit the image of classic beauty. She fit the girl-next-door stereotype better. Wholesome and healthy.

Cute.

Even her clothing fit that image. Today she was wearing a camel-colored coat that nearly matched her hair, dark brown wool slacks, a light green sweater and brown loafers. Certainly nothing provocative. Nothing to stir any feelings of desire.

So why did just looking at her get him thinking illicit thoughts? Thoughts of kissing and touching and much, much more?

Maybe it was the scent of her perfume that prompted those crazy ideas. A breeze was blowing in his direction, and he was tempted to breathe in deeply. He’d noticed Gina’s light, flowery scent several times while visiting his grandmother, had noticed it in fact the day she interviewed for the job. It always had the same enticing effect on him.

Oh yes, hiring her had been a mistake, but she’d been like a breath of fresh air when she’d walked into his office. During the interview, she’d been nervous but not shy. She’d smiled a lot, and he’d liked her animation, the soft yet distinct sound of her voice and the energy that seemed to vibrate through her. He’d felt she was just what his grandmother needed.

Big mistake.

This is sweet, Gina said after a moment, then turned slightly so she could look up at him. Can’t you tell she’s in love?

Love? he scoffed. Women. You think any time a man says a few sweet words, it’s love.

You’re going to tell me your grandfather wasn’t in love with Ella?

I know he was, but that was different.

How?

It just was different. Certainly different from how his father had treated his mother. Definitely different from the way any of the boyfriends who came after his dad had treated her. Tell me, has my grandmother even seen this guy? I mean, recently.

Recently? Gina considered the question, then shook her head. No, but they exchanged pictures, and she said he still had the same cocky look he’d had as a teenager. And they’ve talked on the phone. Talked a lot, in fact. You even mentioned it last month when you got the phone bill.

He remembered the long-distance calls to Danville. And he remembered his grandmother saying she’d been talking to an old friend. He’d thought she meant a female friend. So what did they talk about? Write about?

From what I overheard, most of their conversations were about family and old friends. And a lot of what they wrote to each other was about things they’d done in the past fifty years or so and things they wished they’d done.

Did she—or you—ever tell him that my grandmother is a very wealthy woman?

No. As I said, I don’t think it would matter. Jack’s—

You’re sure you didn’t tell him? Randall interrupted.

Yes, I’m sure. Gina shook her head exasperatedly, then turned away, starting toward her car.

Her departure surprised him. Where are you going?

Home.

You can’t.

She stopped halfway to her car and looked back at him.

What’s the sense of me staying here? Ella’s not here, and you don’t trust me.

You leave and you’re fired.

She laughed and waved the note she held. I think your grandmother just laid me off. She’s found another companion.

I understand you’ve applied for the public relations position at Flemming’s, Randall said quickly, walking toward her. He would use any means he needed to find his grandmother, including bribery and threats. Do you want to work at Flemming Corporation or not?

Her reaction was immediate. Are you threatening me?

I’m saying you can forget the job if you walk away from here without telling me where my grandmother is.

Then you can keep your job. Gina even had a few ideas of what he could do with the job. It was Ella who badgered me into sending in my résumé anyway. And you don’t need me to tell you where she is, she said. She’s already told you. She’s with Jack.

Yes, but where? Where is he?

Randall had stopped in front of her. Much too close, Gina decided. She didn’t like the fact that she could smell his aftershave and that the edge of his suit jacket was blowing up against her coat. But she wouldn’t step back, wouldn’t let him intimidate her in any way. How did you even know she wasn’t here this morning? You don’t usually come over this early.

Again he made a grumbling sound that said volumes about how he didn’t like this situation or being called to task. She left a message on my voice mail at work. She said she was going to be away for a while, catching up on her past, and if I wanted to know anything, I was to come here and see you this morning.

Gina was beginning to get the picture. Ella did want him to know where she’d gone. She’d planted clues. Well, if that was the way Ella wanted it, Gina would play her part. My guess is she’s gone to Rossmoor.

Rossmoor? He looked puzzled.

The retirement community near Walnut Creek. Jack lives there. He’s quite a golfer, I take it. According to him, they have a couple of great courses there.

Okay. Randall nodded. Then that’s where we go.

We? She wasn’t sure she’d heard him right.

He’d already turned away and was starting back toward the house. You go ahead and get into the Lexus. I’ve got to get my coat and lock up.

Why should I go with you? Gina didn’t move